Local
Comings & Goings
Zongker lands at Library of Congress; honors for Morrison
The ‘Comings & Goings’ column chronicles important life changes of Blade readers.
The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at [email protected].
Brett Zongker
Congratulations to Brett Zongker who is now with the public affairs office in the Library of Congress. Brett joined the public affairs team at the Library of Congress to oversee communications on exhibitions, new collections and literary programs, among other public programs. In addition he will continue to teach in the School of Communication at American University, where he has been an adjunct professor since 2012.
Upon taking the position at the Library, Zongker said, “I’m thrilled to be returning to the world of Washington’s fantastic cultural institutions, and the Library of Congress has an amazing collection. I feel very lucky to be able to help tell stories from the Library’s vast archives and share more of the collection with the public.” Zongker has previously covered the arts, culture and museums during more than 11 years as a staff writer and multimedia journalist with the Associated Press.
Before joining the Library at the end of October, Zongker most recently served as senior associate director of media relations at George Washington University where he led media strategy, editorial planning and communications for the university’s academic and research programs. He worked closely with the GW Program on Extremism, the George Washington University Museum and the Textile Museum, the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, and other schools and programs.
Congratulations also to Wes Morrison on receiving the AARP DC 2017 Andrus Award for Community Service. This annual award recognizes those who make a powerful difference in their community.
Morrison certainly meets all those criteria. AARP DC will donate $1,000 to Mary’s House for Older Adults on behalf of Morrison, in honor of this recognition. This charity was selected by Morrison to support Mary’s House vision of “independent, communal housing for older adults that eliminates the intense isolation experienced due to aging, subtle and not so subtle discrimination and intolerance based on one’s sexual/gender identity or orientation.”
Morrison worked for a major television network for 32 years before he was unexpectedly laid off in 2009. At the age of 64, not ready to retire, he wanted to be of service, especially to those in the LGBTQ community. Having personally lost nearly 100 friends from AIDS and other illnesses Morrison recognized that he and others in the LGBTQ community faced challenges in the areas of social and civic inclusion.
Then Morrison met Carol Page, a former AARP DC staff member, who invited him to march with AARP in the Capital Pride parade. It wasn’t long before he was volunteering with AARP on a regular basis. Morrison said, “I began to do presentations for AARP, which allowed me to engage with people and participate fully in living. Having people smile and say, ‘Thank you I didn’t know this program existed,’ fulfills my need to help improve their well being. We live in a world now where everyone is connected by technology, but it can still be isolating. The great thing about volunteering is the connectivity to people in the community.”
In addition to AARP, Morrison volunteers with the DC Office on Aging and Age-Friendly DC; contributes to the Cleveland & Woodley Park Village; and serves as an assistant coordinator at a school for English as a second language. He is a member of the Citizens Advisory Group at Iona Senior Services. Morrison participates in various groups advocating for LGBTQ seniors including: Whitman-Walker Health Aging Coalition, Mary’s House for Older Adults, Iona Senior Services LGBTQ Live Well Academy seminars, Capital Pride Parade and Festival, and Sibley Memorial Hospital transgender program.
Wes Morrison
Rehoboth Beach
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Attendees encouraged to wear appropriate gear
Diego’s in Rehoboth Beach hosts a monthly leather happy hour. April’s edition is scheduled for Friday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate gear. The event is billed as an official event of BLUF, the free community group for men interested in leather. After happy hour, the attendees are encouraged to reconvene at Local Bootlegging Company for dinner, which allows cigar smoking. There’s no cover charge for either event.
District of Columbia
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
Two memorial events scheduled in D.C.
Two celebrations of life are planned for Sean Christopher Bartel, 48, who was found deceased on a hiking trail in Argentina on or around March 15. Bartel began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024.
A memorial gathering is planned for Friday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the IBEW International Office (900 7th St., N.W.), according to a statement by the DC Gay Flag Football League, where Bartel was a longtime member. A celebration of life is planned that same evening, 6-8 p.m. at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.).
District of Columbia
D.C. Council member honored by LGBTQ homeless youth group
Doni Crawford receives inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award
About 100 people turned out Tuesday evening, April 7, for a presentation by D.C.’s Wanda Alston Foundation of its inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award to D.C. Council member Doni Crawford (I-At-Large) for her support for the foundation’s mission to support homeless LGBTQ youth.
Among those who attended the event was Japer Bowles, director of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, who delivered an official proclamation issued by Bowser declaring April 7, 2026 “A Day of Remembrance for Wanda Alston.”
Alston, a beloved women’s and LGBTQ rights activist, served as the city’s first director of the then newly created Office of LGBTQ Affairs under then-Mayor Anthony Williams from 2004 until her death by murder on March 16, 2005.
To the shock and dismay of fellow LGBTQ rights advocates, police and court records reported Alston, 45, was stabbed to death inside her Northeast D.C. house by a man high on crack cocaine who lived nearby and who stole her credit cards and car. The perpetrator, William Martin Parrott, 38, was arrested by D.C. police the next day and later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. He was sentenced in July 2005 to 24 years in prison.
Crawford was among those attending the award event who reflected on Alston’s legacy and outspoken advocacy for LGBTQ and feminist causes.
“I am deeply humbled and honored to receive this inaugural award,” Crawford told the Washington Blade at the conclusion of the event. “I think the world of Wanda Alston. She has set such a great foundation for me and other Council members to build on,” she said.
“Her focus on inclusivity and intersectionality is really important as we approach this work,” Crawford added. “And it’s going to guide my work at the Council every day.”
Crawford was appointed to the D.C. Council in January of this year to replace then Council member Kenyan McDuffie (I-At-Large), who resigned to run for D.C. mayor as a Democrat. She is being challenged by four other independent candidates in a June 16 special election for the Council seat.
Under the city’s Home Rule Charter written and approved by Congress, the seat is one of two D.C. Council at-large seats that cannot be held by a “majority party” candidate, meaning a Democrat.
A statement released by the Alston Foundation last month announcing Crawford’s selection for the Wanda Alston Legacy Award praised Crawford’s record of support for its work on behalf of LGBTQ youth.
“From behind the scenes to now serving as an At-Large Council member, she has fought fearlessly for affordable housing, LGBTQ+ funding priorities, and racial justice,” the statement says. “Council member Crawford’s leadership reflects the same courage and conviction that defined Wanda’s legacy.”
Organizers of the event noted that it was held on what would have been Wanda Alston’s 67th birthday.
“Today’s legacy reception was a smashing success,” said Cesar Toledo, the Alston Foundation’s executive director. “Not only did we come together to celebrate Wanda Alston on her birthday, but we also were able to raise over $10,000 for our homeless LGBTQ youth here in D.C.,” Toledo told the Blade.
“In addition to that, we celebrated and we acknowledged a rising star in our community,” he said. “And that is At-Large Council member Doni Crawford, who we named the inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award recipient.”
At the request of D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) the Council voted unanimously on Jan. 20, 2026, to appoint Crawford to the Council seat being vacated by McDuffie.
Council records show she joined McDuffie’s Council staff in 2022 as a policy adviser and later became his legislative director before McDuffie appointed her as staff director for the Council’s Committee on Business and Economic Development for which McDuffie served as chair.
An effort to increase the number of psychiatrists of color
Calendar: April 10-16
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
The ‘X’ returns to court
Trump budget would codify expanded global gag rule
Police mental health struggles gain growing attention
Man faces first S.C. ‘hate intimidation’ charge
Cuba under pressure and without answers
